Wednesday, September 14, 2016

What is the meaning of Onam? Can we celebrate Onam?
are questions heard amongst some of our circles today. When the story of
Mahabali, the emperor is only a mythology, I had asked my father too questions
similar to this, when I was too young. He told me, Onam for Keralites is a festival after harvest and all agricultural
activities, and it did not have any more implications at my home though farming
and Onam calendar did not math all
the time.

My memory of Onam goes back to when I was lesser than seven years old.
Balakrishnan, our regular worker will climb on one of the tall and wide
jackfruit tree with newly bought ropes to hang a swing. This was the major fun
for us children which we would never get tired of. We were a family of six children and I was
the fifth. Except father and mother, every one waited for our turn as per our
number to sway long or tall. The smallest, we could put alongside for a flight.
It was really thrilling under the full shade of the jackfruit tree. There were
times, the sooner we wake up, early in the morning some of us would rush
straight to the swing!

Those days our neighbors were all
Christians and we had not seen any pookkalam
(Onam flower bed) in the
neighborhood. I remember seeing once a procession of boys from the
neighbourhood who play games with a ‘bear’ dressed up and disguised with banana
dry leaves. I don’t remember what all fun and mischief’s they do during that
procession.

Mother must be busy cooking lunch with a
lot of vegetarian items to serve us. Occasionally there may be some invitees
from among those who helped us in the farming. While we were still busy with
the swing, we would need to answer the call from the kitchen for the lunch. The
lunch will be a typical meal with everything produced at our own farm or
kitchen garden. I don’t remember if we had bought anything from the market
which was too far away. Father would be collecting banana leaf-tips from the
home garden for the lunch to be served.
Rice made of double-boiled red rice and a dozen of supplementary dishes
and side dishes; all served on the banana leaf (for plates) will be the major
event of the day. The left tip of the banana leaf had to be folded down. My father had explained that it was a Syrian Christian custom in Kerala with a reason, that we always observed, provided if it was a leaf tip. We have to taste and
eat everything cooked and program our serving carefully. This would continue
for three or four days. But at our home we never had bought any new dress in
the name of Onam.

When I was seven, our family had moved to
the North part of Kerala, almost 300 km away. We have carried our own home Onam to the new place where all our
neighbours were Muslims. Our two acre paddy field and farm was a kilo meter way
and I had noticed boys and girls coming around that area in search of flowers
for the pookkalam. We continued to invite
some of our farm workers for the lunch.

Years and decades had rolled away, the
trees we used to hung the swing were cut down and new ones grew; farms were
sold off to settle and pay off ancestral shares; we began to move away from our
remnant home as new families and for
finding a workplace. Our children hardly
sway on a swing. Paddy and banana are no more grown at home. Provisions from
nearby superstores and vegetables from Koyambedu market fill our store and
refrigerator. Though we would love to
bring fish home from Kasimedu harbour where you can get the fresh most fish
fold, there is some goodness of a full vegetarian meal. Today, we bought
everything from the market including five banana tip-leaves to serve full a
full Kerala meal with boiled red rice and age old varieties of dishes and side
dishes and an ada payasam.

As five of us were having our lunch, my son
had opened the topic again as I did 46 years ago; “Are we eating to fulfill a
culture?” It was my turn to explain, that once up on a time we were farmers and
part of an agrarian society and culture; everything eaten was cooked at home
and everything cooked was farm-grown. It was a good memorial of our farm life, our
parents and our big family; celebration of our childhood.

Eating and food tastes and habits are part
of any culture and it is carried through generations. Onam at home is nothing
more and nothing less. There is nothing religious about Onam at our home. We
don’t worry what fable people believe and what rituals they practice. People
observe memorials, or festivals celebrations- let it be wedding, birthdays or
anniversaries- differently irrespective of their religious affinity or theological
doctrines. Tell me now can we not
celebrate Onam our way at least with a typical Kerala, agrarian meal?!

About Me

Has a high vision, down to earth, alternative not conventional, committed for the unheard and unspoken, nomadic for a reason, gathers much moss and gives away much, works in partnership to enhance, empower and emancipate. The theology and communication teacher turned developmental researcher and alternative media producer. More at https://sites.google.com/site/phil4j/